9/20/10 I'll be attending the wildflower
symposium on Saturday the 25th in Winter Garden. The schedule
is posted on the foundation's homepage. I was invited to sign books,
too. It should be fun and educational--I hope to see you there!

And speaking of wildflowers, my podcast
on goldenrods was posted today. Goldenrods have been unjustly
blamed for causing hay fever. It's not true, so plant more
easy-to-care-for goldenrods in your landscape to attract lots of
butterflies and to look absolutely beautiful in your fall garden--just
in the nick of time when other flowers may be looking a little
seedy. We have both flat-top goldenrod (Euthamia caroliniana)
and the more typical goldenrods (Solidago spp) that have
volunteered and artfully arranged themselves in our front beds and in
our sunny meadows. I wrote about goldenrods and other sources of
gold in our fall meadows in There's Gold in Our Meadows.

New basil strategies: I jumped the
gun this spring and planted my basil too early--it was the right date,
but the winter had been colder than normal, so none of my seeds
germinated. I should have waited a few more weeks. The only
basil that sprouted in my herb garden was one plant that had been seeded
from last year's crop. I transplanted it from right next to the
sidewalk to further back in the garden and I clipped off a good chunk of
it to bring inside. I cut it into three pieces and stuck them in
water near a southwest-facing window. After a few weeks they
rooted and started growing, but I kept them inside for about 6 weeks and
used some of the leaves as needed in salads and other recipes.
When the roots filled the small vase, I took them out and planted the
three sprouts out next to the original plant. In this photo, the
three sprouts are in the foreground and the original plant is the puny
one near the grayish lavender plant.

I've heard from some organic farmers that this has been
a particularly bad year for fungus on basil here in Florida and they'd
been urged to harvest all their basil at the beginning of August.
Since most of my basil spent those weeks inside, they've missed the
fungus and it's grown very well here late into the season. My new
basil strategy is that I'll take some clippings early in the season and
bring them inside for a month or two and then plant them back outside
for a good fall harvest. I guess this would be called defensive
harvesting.

9/16/10 In my guest rant on today's
gardenrant.com, I maintain that many people ARE interested in gardening events. This is in response to a NYTimes article a few weeks back that botanical gardens have had to cancel their garden-oriented events, because there's not enough interest. I took part in eleven (11) garden-oriented events in Florida over this past year where up to 20,000 people attended. I've summarized some of the best ideas for holding successful garden-oriented festivals. I've also included a
link to a photographic
tour and a podcast: Garden
Fests. Enjoy!

If you have more ideas or would like to share your experiences, please leave a
comment on gardenrant. Thanks.

While we can attract butterflies to our own yards by
planting more native plants--particularly larval food plants for
butterflies, sometimes we might wish for more butterflies for special occasions.
This is when having access to a butterfly farm like White Oak comes into
play. I thought it was interesting that they ship adult
butterflies in folds of wax paper in chilled containers to "mimic
a cool spring morning." In my tour of garden fests this past
year, several included butterfly houses and/or butterfly releases.
Just beautiful!

One other note on welcoming monarchs to your yard:
Don't plant scarlet milkweed, an exotic from South America that is
commonly sold in big box stores, because the scarlet milkweed is
more tropical than our natives and continues to bloom for a longer
period. This means that many monarchs do not migrate and become susceptible
to parasites. See: http://if-srvv-edis.ifas.u
fl.edu/uw311 I've ordered some butterfly weed (Asclepias.
tuberosa): hopefully I'll be successful in not killing it.

9/11/10 There's
an old gardeners' tale that topping trees is a necessary landscaping
practice. Listen to my
podcast on Topping
trees. There are two separate parts to this topic:

1) When buying a young tree, look for
one that has not been topped or shaped even if it looks scrawny. A topped tree may end up with multiple trunks and competing
leaders. An un-topped tree will be a stronger specimen because of its one-trunked
shape. It will fill out in time and
have a natural shape for that tree species. If you plan ahead
for the size and environment of the full-grown tree then it will grace
its space beautifully and live its expected lifespan.

This "Little Gem" magnolia is waiting to be
bought at a big box store.
The grower has topped it, so that it now has no main trunk.
This will not be a strong tree in the long run. >>

If you've ended up with a tree that
has a double trunk and if the tree is still relatively young, choose the
stem that is straighter or larger to be the main trunk. Trim the secondary trunk back by about on third to a side branch,
which looks better and reduces the possibility of sucker braches. The next year cut it back one half and the third
year cut it back flush with the main trunk. This
gradual trimming reduces the shock to the young tree and each trimming
encourages the main trunk to grow more. For much more information
on pruning and other tree care see UF's
woody horticultural pages.

<< This is the same tree as above and it also has
a double trunk. If you were to purchase this tree, choose the
trunk on the right to be the main one. Don't trim anything back
until next year, but then start cutting back the left trunk over two or
three years.

2) If you are working to make your
landscape more wind-resistant in preparation for the next big hurricane,
bring in a certified arborist who can create a pruning plan that may
take several years to accomplish, especially with huge mature trees. He should not trim out more than 20% of the tree's canopy per
year and should not include tree topping. So always ask what the
tree cutter plans to do before he steps into the cherry picker. A mature tree that has been topped has had its life shortened
dramatically. It will put
out some shoots, but it will have a hard time creating a new lead trunk
and will be severely weakened by this treatment.

Topping a palm tree will kill it, because it only grows from the top.
You should only have dead fronds trimmed from a palm.

One exception to tree topping is for
fruit trees to make it easier to harvest the fruit. The topping will probably shorten the life of the tree, but many
fruit trees, especially citrus, have been bred to withstand this abuse.
It's best if you have your fruit tree pruned by someone who
specializes in maximizing the harvest.

9/4/10 Fall is not
a good time to apply fertilizer to southern lawns, because our
southern grasses are going into dormancy as the days grow short and the
temperatures become cooler. Their ideal growing temperatures range
from 85 to 117 degrees. If you want to know the science, listen to
my podcast the Science
of Southern Grasses, which was posted on jacksonville.com this week.
You can also read my article posted here: The
Science Behind Southern Grasses, Including Turf.

8/30/10 Florida's
Invasive Plants cost us millions of (both private and taxpayer)
dollars every year. A podcast was posted today where I talk about lantanas--some
are invasive and some are not. Don't be part of the problem.
Find out what's on the most invasive lists at www.fleppc.org,
remove them from your landscape, don't buy them, and complain when you
see invasive plants for sale.

<< These non-native lantanas bloom all summer, attracting
lots of insects and their
predators. Since they don't
produce any berries that birds could carry into natural areas, they are
not invasive.

~ ~ ~

Other green gardening matters:

Rufino Osorio, author of
"A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants," answers the
question in this post about where to purchase plants native to Florida
on the Florida Native Plant Society's blog: Sources
for Native Plants. He's posted some wonderful photos as well.

An interesting and
beautiful new blog by a team of great garden writers. Attracting
wildlife to your yard is an important part of sustainable landscaping.
This blog may give you some new ideas. Wildlife
Garden

This is an interesting
discussion in reaction to a recent NY Times article, Math Lessons for
Locavores by Stephen Budianski, which highlighted the actual cost of
raising food and getting it to the store. These letters make some other
points about this topic. Eating
Locally, Thinking Globally.

8/23/10 This is why you need to
rinse away all the soil from the pot. This winged elm (Ulmus alata)
had circling roots, but they were not obvious until the soil was
removed. I straightened out what I could and clipped off the
others. And who knew that the roots would be bright red?

I'll be watering this little tree daily for a couple of
weeks and a few times per week for a month or two. I did not put
any amendments into the planting hole, but I spread some compost over
the whole area out to two feet away from the tree. I then covered
the entire area with mulch, but did not put any compost or mulch right
up against the tree. I'll keep you informed of its progress.

This is a Florida native and while we have one of these
trees growing naturally out in the back at the edge of a wooded area, I
was pleased to have another one. I've planted it near where I lost
a red bay in the front. (See my article: Red
Bays are Dying.)

8/17/10
Tonight I'll be speaking to the Pawpaw chapter of the Florida Native
Plant Society in Volusia County. This is my 53rd
and last event in my year-long book tour. Whew!! What a
great ride. Thanks to everyone who organized these events, all the
attendees, and all those who bought books. I've been honored to be
a part of your programs. For a review of where I've been go to my events
page. Now on to the next adventures...

Friday the 13th--your lucky
day! I visited Victoria Register-Freeman's
garden up in Jacksonville and I've posted A
Tour of an Urb Farm in Jacksonville. My tour includes lots of
photos and tells the story of how Victoria became an accidental
community gardener. Plus a new podcast on people
finding various ways to grow vegetables was posted today where I
talk about Victoria's Urb Garden and others who are finding innovative ways to
grow vegetables and eat locally. Enjoy.

Here's a story posted in the NYTimes, Tending
Purple Martins. An important part of a
sustainable landscape is habitat for birds. While most birds can supply
or build their own nests, purple martins depend on humans for shelter.
Wouldn't you love some of these voracious bug eaters in your yard?

And in the Dallas News is this story on nematodes.
This is a reminder that not all nematodes
are a gardener's enemy. Like bugs, the vast majority of them are benign
or beneficial. One gram of soil (about 1/5 teaspoon) could contain
hundreds of nematodes. When your soil is in balance, it becomes a
balanced ecosystem. This is what a sustainable gardener aims for.

8/6/10 Use More of
Florida's Native Plants to save money in your landscape.
Listen to my podcast Florida's
natives for more information. Gil Nelson has written two
excellent reference books for us here in northern Florida. Click
the covers for more information and to purchase the books.

To find nurseries that specialize in Florida native
plants, check out the Association of Florida's Native Nurseries'
website: www.afnn.org.

To
further educate yourself, start attending the local chapter meetings of
the Florida Native Plant Society (www.fnps.org).
You can also start following the FNPS blog at www.fnpsblog.org.
(Full disclosure: I'm one of the main bloggers.) You can
also "like" the Florida Native Plant Society page on Facebook.
Feel free to post photos and success stories on using natives or to ask
questions of the group.

7/29/10 In today's USA Today, Janice Lloyd posted a
story on Community
Supported Agriculture. I'm heartened by the attention that
this trend is receiving. Maybe more folks will start thinking
about eating more locally grown food and maybe even start growing more
of their own vegetables.

July 26, 2010: Win Gil Nelson's new book, "Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens: A handbook for Gardeners, Homeowners, and Professionals"
by leaving a comment on the Florida Native Plant Society's blog
by August 4th. This book covers the 8 southeastern states from Virginia to
Louisiana, but it does not include tropical south Florida (planting
zones 10 & 11).

"Best Native Plants for Southern Gardens" is filled to the brim with important information on native plants and is a must for any serious gardener in the southeastern region of the country.

While this is a beautiful book that would look great on your
bookshelf, I predict that once you get your hands on it, that you'll mark it up and really use it to increase your success growing native plants. It has enough information and detail for professional landscapers and native ecosystem restorers, but it's an easy-enough read for the more casual gardener as well.

Also, check out "An
Appreciation for Scarlet Hibiscus" posted over on The Florida
Native Plant Society's blog. I've purchased several of these great
plants and have placed them around the front pond. I even bought a
white variety at the garden fest in St. Augustine this spring. I
wasn't sure it would bloom, but it's really taken off. I guess
this is an example of the right plant in the right place!

July 21, 2010 Grafted Tomatoes! Over
on Garden
Rant, Ann Lovejoy wrote a piece on grafted tomato plants and how a
sturdy rootstock allows gardeners to have more success with those tasty heirloom
varieties. Yes, there was a contest and I was one of the
winners and my two grafted tomato plants came via FedEx this
afternoon. Even though it was much too hot for humans in the
garden, I planted them right away. (And here is a pod cast: grafted
tomatoes.)

<< They didn't look too bad coming right out of
the box--the soil inside the 2" pots was sealed with plastic wrap
and a pair of wooden stakes protected the tomato stems. Everything was
well-wrapped in newspaper. (I also will make good use of the three
crossword puzzles included in the packing material--nothing goes to
waste here.)

One of the plants was double grafted with a Cherokee
green tomato on one side and a Cherokee purple on the other. The
planting instructions said to keep the graft above the soil level,
because allowing the heirloom to root would defeat the purpose of the
graft. Normally, I would plant tomatoes very deep in the soil to
encourage more roots to form.
This will be interesting to watch and I'll keep you informed. (Update:
the tomatoes did not make it through the summer heat, but I'll try
grafted tomatoes again. >>

<< I had the perfect place in my garden for these
two plants--right next to my in-garden, summer-doldrums compost
pile. The tomato roots will probably gravitate toward the
rich, damp compost for nutrients. After I finished harvesting the
last of my greens I built the compost pile in the bed using old path
mulch, pond scum, grass clippings, and then covered it with a layer of
pine needles. I'll spread this over all the beds before starting
my cool-weather crops in September.

I soaked the soil around the new plants with rain barrel
water. This is why I love my elevated
barrels--gravity is on my side. Note the seedling trays on top of
the compost pile where I've planted my own fall tomatoes and more bell
peppers--most of them have just sprouted.

Florida's different: I don't know about you, but I am being inundated with
emails from seed companies telling me that now is the proper time to
plant cool-season plants. If you're in Florida like me, you
can buy the seeds now, but don't plant them yet. Store them in a
sealed container in the refrigerator until the end of September or
later.

July 15, 2010 I just love this story posted in today's NY
Times: A
Michigan Teen Farms Her Backyard. I admire Ms. Reau's ambition and entrepreneurship
for farming in her yard and selling shares of her crop to local families--her own CSA (community supported agriculture). She's been raising rabbits, too, and sells the manure as Bunny Honey. I hope lots of other folks, young and old, will be inspired to dig up their lawns and grow something of value.
(Update 7/19/10: Here's another story with an opposite scenario.
Farmers for rent for folks who have property suitable for growing
vegetables, but for whatever reason do not. Rent
a farmer? Growers visit city backyards. Thanks to Helen for sending
me a link to this article.)

If you need some guidance getting started, the Duval
County Extension agents in Jacksonville have a half-day class coming up
on Saturday August 21 10am – Noon.

Take home your own planted seed tray
at this make-and-take program. The cost is $15. Pre-registration and
pre-payment is required. Please call Jeannie at 904-387-8850 to
pre-register. This class fills up fast, so get those registrations in
quickly so you can start your fall garden. The deadline to register is
Wednesday, August 18th.

July 12, 2010 Why is grass science
important? Because what you don't know can backfire.
My new article, "The Science Behind Southern Grasses, Including Turf" explains why you should NOT use Yankee lawn care advice when you're
managing a southern lawn. The typical advice for minimum lawn care is to fertilize with a slow-release
fertilizer or compost in the fall. This is bad advice for southern turf because it will be going into dormancy with cooler weather and shorter days. That
fertilizer will sit there unused except by weeds, or the late fall storms will rinse it off the landscape into the waterways via the storm drainage systems.

The better advice for minimum care of warm weather grasses is to fertilize (if you absolutely must) only once in the spring with a slow release fertilizer and/or compost after the grass begins to green up with the approach of warmer weather and longer days.

And while we are talking about grasses and turf, you may
be interested in John Greenlee's new book, The American Meadow Garden
published by Timber Press and illustrated with Saxon Holt's luscious
photographs. Read
a review by Billie Goodnick and enter for a chance to win the
book.

While not specifically for Florida, I'm looking forward
to reading this book for design and maintenance ideas.

Pass the word: Turfgrass is not always greener!
See The Lawn Reform Coalition's website for greener landscapes: www.lawnreform.org.

July
8, 2010 My new
podcast recorded with Tracy Collins at jacksonville.com has been
posted. We talked about my book, which has sold well and is halfway through the
second printing. My editor at University Press of Florida said that it has been a
"down" year for book sales, and that my book has gone to a
second printing well before a year after its release was a remarkable
accomplishment. I'd like to thank all who've bought it and am glad
people are finding it useful. Listen to the podcast to find out
what may be coming up next. I'd love to hear what you think.

July
5, 2010 Sign up for the Lawn Reform Coalition's new
newsletter to receive updates and timely information. Learn how you
too can have a "freedom lawn." Then by this time next year you
can declare your own independence day-- free from all those poisons and
polluting chemicals you used to buy for your lawn. "Grass
isn't always greener..." (Update: instead of a newsletter, we
converted our website with all its resources over to a blog. this
way we'll post new stuff as it happens and don't need to format a
newsletter--we figured your inbox would appreciate this action.)

My last appearance in the Tallahassee area will be 7pm
July 10 at the Apalachee Bay
Yacht Club where I've been invited to speak on Sustainable gardening basics. While
a yacht club may seem a little out of the ordinary for this
topic, everyone likes to save time and money in his or her
gardens and general landscape care. It should be fun! 69
Harbour Point Dr. Crawfordville, FL (South of Tallahassee on the Gulf
coast)

July 2, 2010 A new podcast, Hurricane-scaping,
was posted on jacksonville.com today. Yes, hurricane Alex has come
and gone and experts have predicted a heavy season. The are a
number of easy-to-accomplish landscaping projects that might reduce
storm damage. Listen and find out. I also posted a Hurricane-Scapingarticle recently. It's been a while since I've done any
podcasts since I've been on my year-long book tour, but I took the
opportunity yesterday to record several new ones.

Our cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) are doing very
well, even though some deer came through the yard and trimmed them back.
I've put up some wire fencing and several tall tomato cages around the
cucumber vines. This is the first year that I've planted them, but
it won't be the last! The cucumbers are crisp and sweet and boy to
they grow fast in our north Florida heat. I bought this
"Ashley" cultivar from the Victory
Seed Company, a small, family owned and operated organization that
works to preserve plant varieties by locating, growing, documenting and
offering heirloom and rare open-pollinated seeds to home gardeners.
They grow seeds on their farm
and help to support other seed farmers by purchasing from a network of
growers. I love that they enclose their seeds in small zip-lock
baggies to help preserve freshness. Hey Burpee are you
listening?

In today's NYTimes Ann Raver wrote At
Monticello, Jefferson's Methods Endure. In her article she
describes her visit to today's version of Jefferson's gardens. She
also reviews the book by header Monticello gardener, Peter Hatch,
“Thomas Jefferson’s Revolutionary Garden,” to be published by Yale
University Press. I look forward to reading it.

Since the male had sprouted two sets of new fronds last
year, it now sports two fruiting structures, while the female is only
thinking about another set of fronds, no sexual parts this year.
So the inequality continues.